Live

Don’t think outside the box.

Live outside the box. Feel outside the box.

Color outside the lines with all of the unexpected colors.

Wear glitter and pearls to walk down a country road and comfy clothes to work.

Disconnect the dots.

Bake when you want to and never as a chore.

Eat cake without icing and icing without cake.

Laugh out loud. Very loudly and for a long time.

Cry ugly. 

Hug daily. Nightly. Even if you are alone. Hug you. Write yourself love notes. Why not?

Reach for the stars and stuff them in your pockets so that you are never in the dark again.

Play with puppies and simply say “puppy feet” when you don’t know what to say.

Ask children to pray for you. Listen to them pray.

Stop to smell the roses. And the sugar cookies. And the ocean. And honeysuckles.

Watch sappy love stories because you refuse to stop believing in fairy tales.

Dance. Skip. Frolic in a meadow. Stop. Repeat.

Hold a hot drink. Allow it to fog your glasses so that you don’t have to see anything if just for a moment. Sip. Exhale.

Give.

Hear the snow.

Touch the sunshine.

Taste the wind.

Smell the rain.

See the love.

Feel alive.

Live your life.

Even in the midst of a pandemic. Be smart. Keep praying.

Have faith.

Live.

God wants us to rest in Him. Where we stand right now is our reality. This is it. We can live it to the fullest until we take our next step, and that step into the future becomes our present. Right now we have to live each moment with wisdom from government and medical experts. As we face the coming hours, days, and weeks, we must remember, Psalm 119:105 states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Taking on the past, present, and future can be overwhelming. When we take the time to be in the present, where we literally are, we may experience living the joy in the midst of difficult circumstances. God wants us to rest right where we are because He will give us the light we need for the next step we are to take, when we need it. Until that next step is illuminated – live smart, live differently for a time maybe, but live.

Chaplain Kim Crawford-Meeks 12.7.17; revised 11.6.18, revised 03.16.20